Two Wicks for a Flame
by entergrg
Summary: Ace dies at the Marineford and meets a younger counterpart from a parallel universe. Ace is given a second chance at life in a different universe, where he grew up under Whitebeard, instead of Garp. Oh, and he has been unconscious for the past seven years. *Cross-posted in AO3
1. An Encounter

I still remember the day I read about Ace's death. Although I tried to keep up with One Piece afterwards, I soon lost interest. So my knowledge of One Piece is pretty much limited to what happened up to Marineford. I've wanted to write an One Piece fanfic for a long time, but I couldn't hold onto one idea long enough to write something. Then this plot bunny just hopped into my head one day and won't leave me alone! So here it is :)

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 **Chapter 1: An Encounter**

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When Ace opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a grassy riverbank. There was no sound of battle, no brothers and sisters fighting for his and their lives, no admirals with murderous intents – nothing. Nothing, except for a gently flowing river, soft grass field dotted with wildflowers, blue sky with puffy clouds, and a boy.

A boy. A boy that was skipping stones.

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Plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop.

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The stone skipped for an impressive number of fifty-something times before finally sinking to the riverbed.

As if sensing Ace's confused stare, the boy turned around and his face broke into a brilliant smile.

"Oh! Fi-nal-ly! You came!"

The boy rushed to his side, his pile of pebbles forgotten. The boy's childish features somehow seemed weirdly familiar, in a way that you sometimes feel when you look at old pictures of your parents when they were around your age. The boy had unruly jet black hair that framed a cherubic face with a splatter of freckles. His silvery grey eyes were bright and mischievous and his mouth was stretched into a wide, toothy smile.

"You, you are—" Ace stammered, struggling to form a coherent question. The small boy didn't seem to care.

"I'm Ace! Nice to meet you, the other Ace!" The smaller Ace stretched out his hand, his eyes folding into smiling crescents.

"O-okay," Ace clasped the outstretched hand almost out of reflex.

Small Ace made a move to pull him up, but then let go of the hand when Ace was about midway up.

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Thud.

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Ace fell backward and landed in an ungraceful heap.

"Ow! Damn it, you little—"

"Haha, you're slow! Are you sure you're me? Come on, get up! Do you know how long I waited for you? Come and play with me!"

"What the hell were you waiting me for? And I'm not your babysitter," Ace grumbled as he pushed himself up. He'd so get the little brat for this.

"Ha, excuse you," Small Ace said, "and here I was waiting for seven years just to give you another chance at life. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to Mum and just crossed the river when I first got here."

Ace stopped. There were just too many things to process in that short two sentences. Another chance at life? Seven years? And wait, did that brat just say—

"Mum?!"

"I know right?! I saw her for the first time too! She's so much prettier than her picture! But I only saw her once though, on the other side of the river. Oh, and Roger. But he just stood there and cried, totally useless," Small Ace rolled his eyes, "but Mum said that you'll be coming here to take my place. She asked me to wait until then to cross the river."

Ace looked over Small Ace's shoulder at the river. "What's so special about the river?"

Small Ace gave him an incredulous look.

"You're kidding right? That's the river that splits the living and the dead. Why are you so dense? You're older than me!"

"Shut up! I didn't excitedly grow up going to school," Ace muttered defensively. He knew he was pretty ignorant and lacked commonsense, but it hurt to have it pointed out like that. But he gathered the most important piece of information from the brief conversation. It seemed like he did die. Perhaps it was a small mercy that he did not see anyone else in this riverbank. Hopefully it meant that other people made it out of the battlefield safely.

Small Ace took in that piece of information. "Well, _how_ did you grow up? Mum said that we lived in parallel universes, so your situation was kinda different from mine."

"You're the genius, you tell me," Ace grumbled.

Small Ace rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time. It seemed like a pet habit of his. Ace wondered where—or whom—he picked it up from, because he sure as hell did not have such an annoying habit.

Small Ace plopped down in front of Ace. "Fine, I'll tell you my story first. Roger asked Oyaji – that's Whitebeard – to look after me and Mum when he was gone. He apparently thought about asking Garp instead, hiding things in plain sight and what not, but thought again at the end. So I grew up with Oyaji and my siblings on Moby Dick. They're my family. Marco, Thatch, Izou, Jozu, and everyone," Small Ace said, his voice soft and his eyes taking on a faraway look, reminiscing.

"Well, I guess that's where the difference begins. In my… universe, Roger entrusted me to Garp and he brought me to East Blue after I was born. I grew up there with two brothers, Sabo and Luffy. I guess you have no idea who they are. Man, you missed out," Ace shook his head. His mood grew somber as he thought of his younger brother he left behind. He sincerely hoped he survived the battle…. "Long story short, I set sail when I was 17 and ended up taking on Whitebeard's mark not so long after I made the Grand Line." Ace conveniently left out the part where he attempted to kill Whitebeard for a hundred days straight. He had a feeling that the smaller version of himself would not appreciate that little tidbit of information.

"Oh, that makes things easier," Small Ace clapped his hands in delight. "Tell you what, let me just show you."

"Show me what?" Ace was apprehensive. The whole situation did not make sense.

"You'll see!"

Small Ace stood up straight. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his nose in deep thought, and then stomped his foot twice on the ground.

Suddenly, the riverside faded away and the two Aces found themselves in a room.

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Small Ace is more childlike than Ace was when he was around that age (ten), because he grew up in a loving environment without all the bullshit about the sin of being born as Roger's child. Importance of family environment, really.


	2. A Room

Ace and Small Ace end up in a room.

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 **2\. A Room**

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The room was familiar yet strange, just like Small Ace standing next to him. The general interior, from dark wooden floor to sturdy and practical furniture, was that of Moby Dick. However, Ace did not recall seeing this specific room anywhere in his Moby. And Ace would know, because he literally went through every nook and cranny of the ship during his rebellious stage (puberty, according to some of the commanders).

The center of the room was taken up by a bed surrounded by numerous medical equipments, not unlike Whitebeard's bedroom.

On the bed lied another Ace.

"What the hell. Just how many of us are out there?"

Ace muttered.

This Ace looked… void of life. There were no better words to describe him. He was literally skin and bones, with no trace of muscle. The skin had unnatural pallor and his long, braided ( _braided!_ ) hair looked brittle. Ace thought that if he poked him, he would degenerate into a pile of dust. It was unnerving, to say the least.

"He's me," Small Ace said, a sad smile gracing his young face.

"What?!" Ace asked in disbelief. He whipped his head from the atrophied, dying body to Small Ace, who seemed to be brimming with life. "You've got to be kidding."

Small Ace gave a small shrug. "It's true. I've been like this for the past seven years."

"What? Why? What happened?"

"I was ten and finally got a permission to wander around the island on my own. It was supposed to be a peaceful island, so everyone thought it would be okay to let me go on my own. But when I didn't return by the dinnertime, folks got worried and went around looking for me. They found me under a heap of rubbles at the outskirts of the town. The townsfolk said that it had been an old abandoned warehouse that collapsed sometime during the day. They thought I went there seeking adventure and accidentally got caught as the building collapsed on itself."

"They thought?" Ace echoed. He had a feeling this was not the truth.

"They did not have any reason to believe otherwise. But they were wrong. I didn't go there on my own and the warehouse didn't collapse on itself. I was attacked and dragged there by Kaido's men. They thought they'd killed me and tried to cover up their crime by destroying the building," Small Ace spat out, bitterly.

"Kaido's men? Why would they?"

"Oyaji and Kaido had been fighting over a strategically important archipelago and Kaido was losing. He needed a distraction. The untimely death of the youngest child seemed like a good distraction, apparently. And it worked. He's in charge of that region now." Both Aces growled in anger. "They say it's a miracle I'm alive at all. You don't know how many so called medical experts were invited onboard and then promptly kicked out because they suggested 'letting me go,'" Small Ace said, shaking his head with a rueful grin.

It was then that Ace finally took in the rest of the room. Everything was well kept and the bedside table was almost spilling over with myriad get-well cards and small presents, which must have piled up over the years. The clothes the unconscious boy was wearing were clean and even ironed. The braided hair meant that somebody had washed and carefully braided his hair, as if the person was afraid the unruly hair would bother the unconscious boy's sleep.

"Izou," Ace breathed. Small Ace looked up at him in question. "The hair. Izou braided it, right? He braids his hair like that sometimes."

Small Ace nodded, smiling in fond memory. "Yeah, Izou takes it upon himself to keep me clean and well-groomed. Well, as well-groomed as I can be in this state. And it's not only Izou. Everyone has been taking care of me, even though I've been sleeping for seven years. Marco reads to me, Jozu and Vista tell me about latest adventures, Thatch and Haruta let me in on their pranking schemes… Oyaji can't come in because the room is too small, but he sometimes sits by the doorway just to look at me. When there's a battle, the first thing they do is blockading the room. One time, an enemy crew member broke down the blockade and came in; maybe he thought we hid treasure or something here because it was just so obviously well-guarded. Then Sandi shot him full of sedatives, even though she's a nurse and got no training in fighting. She should have just run away, but she stood in front of my bed, protecting me…. When Marco later came in, you wouldn't believe the murderous look he had on his face as he dragged the poor guy outside," Small Ace laughed mirthlessly. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, which soon flooded down the round cheeks.

"You're loved," Ace whispered.

Small Ace nodded, wiping at his tears with the back of his hand. "I am. And I'm so grateful, but sometimes I wish they won't love me so much. I can see how this's affecting them… they don't laugh as much and they don't really party anymore. I don't want to keep being their burden. It's frustrating."

"I think, I think they don't see it that way because they love you, love us," Ace said. "Where I'm from… the world I lived in… I was foolish, reckless. I got captured by the Marines and was to be executed. I didn't think I deserved to be saved, but everyone came. Even though I was who I was, they… loved me. I'm not good at all this love shit, but I know that they love me. And you. They love us," Ace said in a soft voice. It was a realization that came too late for him. Ace knew that his family liked him and he himself loved them fiercely, but he did not know that he was also loved just as fiercely in return.

"…I guess I shouldn't keep you any longer," Small Ace said, his teary eyes shining with new found determination. "I was going to keep you to myself for a while so we can play, but I can't let my family wait any longer. Well, Mum and Roger're waiting on the other side, so I guess I'll just play with them. Come on, I'll help you get in."

Small Ace pulled on Ace's hand and put it on the forehead of the lying boy. White light began to shine from the place where the three Aces met.

"Wait, wait, what? What are you doing?" Ace asked, flabbergasted at the quick turn of events.

Small Ace smiled. "I'm giving this body to you. It's a second chance for you and a farewell gift to my family. Tell them thank you for me—for loving me, not giving up on me. And tell them that I love them and that I'll be alright. I'll be cheering for you guys from the other side."

"A-are you sure? This, this is your body," Ace took in a shuddering breath. He could feel himself slowly dissolving. It was a weird yet somehow comforting feeling.

Small Ace rolled his eyes for the last time. "Yes, I'm sure. Good-bye, the other me. See you later!"

With this final farewell, Small Ace, grinning a grin that was reminiscent of Luffy's trademark grin, slowly faded from Ace's view. No, it was not only Small Ace. Everything was slowly fading into white nothingness. And Ace…

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…fell into a deep slumber.

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When I was writing this chapter, I thought of Alphonse in FMA (for those of you who know the awesome series).

Also, many thanks to all of you who left kudos and comments in the last chapter! They're much appreciated ;)


	3. A Memory

Ace dreams memories not his own.

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 **3\. A Memory**

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Ace's very first memory was the sound of rain. Raindrops created a rhythmic melody as they pelted against windows and the wooden deck.

"What a downpour. I seriously don't get the Grand Line weather. Are you cold, Ace?"

Thatch asked Ace in his arms. Ace shook his head no. The two of them were sitting on Thatch's bed. Even though Ace had his own room, he rarely slept there. When it was around the bedtime, someone would always come and pick Ace up to bring to their room. Ace was never left alone.

"Out?" Ace asked as he looked up at his brother. As a bedtime ritual, Ace usually got a stroll on the deck in his sibling's arms or beck.

"No, no out. Can't you hear how hard the rain's falling? Be a good boy and stay with big brother Thatch."

"Out!" Ace shook his chubby arms to emphasize his point, his lips protruding in the most adorable pout.

"Oi, oi, calm down. I'll bring you outside in the morning if the weather is nicer. Besides, it's way past your bedtime now. Marco will have a word with both of us if he catches you awake at this hour." Thatch ruffled the little one's unruly hair.

Just then, someone knocked and opened the door without waiting to hear an answer. Speaking of the devil—it was Marco.

"You should have told me you were taking Ace with you, yoi," Marco complained as he pushed his wet hair out of the way. By the way he was drenched from head to toe, it seemed like he spent a good amount of time looking around the deck, worried that Ace might have ventured outside on his own. "And it's past his bedtime. He should be sleeping."

"Well, I thought I should keep him with me tonight in case it thunders or something," Thatch replied and added contemplatively, "Not that he's afraid of it."

"'under!" Ace clapped his hands. Yes, the little brat was not afraid of trifling things like thunder. _Someone should really hammer some sense of self-preservation into his little head_ , Thatch thought to himself.

"No, no thunder yet," Marco replied as he lightly shook Ace's small hand.

"Ma'co!" Ace laughed happily and stretched his arms towards his eldest brother.

Marco shook his head in regret. "No, Ace. You'll get wet too if I hold you now."

At the unexpected rejection, Ace's eyes became as big as saucers and his pursed lips started to tremble.

The two older brothers noticed the signs of impending doom but could only standby helplessly as the first drop of fat tear rolled down Ace's chubby cheek.

Ace took in a deep breath.

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"Waaaaaaaaaaaa!"

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Ace was grief-stricken. He couldn't play outside all day because of the rain. Thatch denied him his nightly stroll. And now his eldest brother wouldn't even hold him. Ace's small head could not comprehend the injustice of it all.

"What happened?!"

At the sound of Ace's cry, several crew members burst into the room in alarm.

"Ma'co, Ma'co!"

In between his cries, Ace called out to his usual comforter. Marco was torn. He wanted nothing more than to scoop Ace up and hold him close, but he was still drenched from cold rain. Jozu, one of the people who had rushed in, smacked him squarely on the head.

"Why are you making the little one cry?" The diamond man chided.

"I didn't do anything!" Marco sputtered at the accusation.

"Hand him over, Thatch," Izou snatched Ace from Thatch's incapable hands and started to rock him gently, making cooing noises. "There, there, shhh…. It's alright Ace, your brothers are here."

"And sister!" Haruta chirped from where she was crouching near Izou's feet.

At Izou's soothing gestures, Ace's wailing slowly subsided into small sobs. Eventually Ace closed his tired eyes, suckling his thumb.

"Aww, he's adorable."

Ace drifted to sleep, listening to warm voices surrounding him.

"Look at his eyes. They are all puffy from crying."

"How cute!"

"I still can't believe _Roger_ is his dad. I mean, look at him! He's too cute to be related to that bast—man. I said man, don't glare at me like that, Marco!"

"Shush, Namur. You'll wake him."

Susurration of raindrops falling on the deck. Gentle whispers of his siblings. Izou's soft lullaby. Distant rumbling laugh of Oyaji.

In the midst of these familiar sounds, Ace fell into a deep slumber.

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I know that some of you've been waiting for Ace to meet the Whitebeards - I'm sorry for the dealy, but I promise they will meet soon :)


	4. An Awakening

**A/N:** I'm so, so sorry for the late update. I've got more things to say, but I'll save them for the end note. For now, please enjoy the (short) chapter!

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 **4\. An Awakening**

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Pit-a-pat.

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It was raining.

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The sound of rain made Ace think for a minute that he was still dreaming the memory of the other Ace.

But soon Ace realized that it was somehow different. Besides the sound of rain, everything was quiet. There was no lullaby, no laughter, no hushed whispers. Nothing.

Then Ace noticed that everything was dark. He couldn't see a thing.

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'Oh, my eyes are closed.'

Ace realized belatedly.

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Ace tried opening them, but it took him considerably more effort than he had expected. It was like moving boulders from where they had been lodged firmly in for ages. But Ace was nothing if not tenacious.

When Ace finally managed to open his eyes to small slits, he was greeted with the sight of a much too familiar back.

Somebody must have shifted Ace from when he last saw himself ( _himself_ —the body was his now, no matter how hard it was for Ace to wrap his head around the whole concept of parallel universes), as he was now lying on his side, facing the room. A man dressed in a white chief's outfit was sitting at the desk at the opposite side of the room, busily scribbling away on some sort of document.

'Thatch.'

Ace breathed out the name in his mind. Thatch. His brother. His brother that Ace had lost. _Thatch._

If Ace could, he was sure that he would have cried and shouted out his brother's name. But as it was, Ace barely had energy to keep his eyes open.

'Thatch!'

Ace called again in his mind. He really, really wanted to see his face again. He wanted to see that gentle smile and kind brown eyes.

As if he heard Ace's inner cry, Thatch slowly turned around.

However, Ace's treacherous eyes closed just as he was fully turned.

'Damn it,' Ace cursed as he was again sucked into deep slumber.

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Marco was trying to find the miscalculation in the last quarter's spending. For some reasons, the numbers didn't match up. If it was small, he would have just thrown it away as a lost cause. But as it were, the amount was actually quite a bit. Marco massaged the bridge of his nose. This was getting really tiring.

"Hey Marco, you got a minute?"

Just then, Thatch came in with some paperwork in hand. _Great, more work,_ Marco muttered to himself.

"If it's the report about the last week's excursion, just leave it there."

"Huh? Oh yeah, here," Thatch dumped the thick report on Marco's desk distractedly, "actually there's something else I need to tell you."

"What is it? Thatch, I really don't have much time right now," Marco sighed.

"Well, um… I thought about just keeping this to myself, because you know, not setting ourselves up and all that, but, I don't know, I thought I should at least let you know…. But then again, maybe not. You know what, Marco? Never mind. I actually don't have anything to tell you now, so I'll leave you to your numbers," Thatch pulled a tight grin and made a move to leave. Marco rolled his eyes and stopped him with a slight tug on his wrist.

"Now you got my attention. Spill, whatever it is."

"It's just… I was in Ace's room just now, because I wanted to spend some time with the little one. I was working at the desk and had this strange feeling that somebody was watching me. So I turned around and, I swear Marco, I saw Ace's eyes close. And if they were to close, it means that they were _open_ at first, right? I mean, I might've been just seeing things, but really, Marco, you gotta believe me, I saw Ace's eyes."

Thatch had started pacing the room at one point as he retold the story and kept pacing even after he finished his account.

"…."

When it didn't seem like Marco would say anything soon, Thatch crossed his arms and glared at him as if in challenge.

"Well? Say something!"

Another beat of potent silence, and Marco sighed.

"It's not that I don't believe you. It's just… you know how many false alarms we had over the years. You're right, we better keep this to ourselves, at least for now."

"You don't believe me." Thatch sounded hurt.

"I just said that I believe you! I'm just saying, let's be cautious, all right?"

"It sure sounds like you believe that Ace's never going to wake up!"

Marco growled and grabbed Thatch by the collar of his shirt.

"Damn it, Thatch, that's bullshit and you know it. There's nothing I want more than to see Ace wake up. I'd sell my soul if that's what it takes. Do you know how many times I thought I saw Ace wake up? Do you know how many times, how many nights I spent sitting by his bedside, because I was sure I saw his finger twitch? You have no idea."

Marco's chest was heaving in pant-up anger, frustration, and sorrow. But what Thatch could not bear to witness was the look of defeat in his strongest brother's eyes.

Thatch let out a long sigh and gently clasped Marco's forearm.

"I'm sorry, Marco. That was uncalled for. I just… I just really want our baby to wake up, you know? I'm not sure how long he, and we, can survive this. And I also have had my fair share of false alarms. That's why I wasn't sure about sharing this with you to begin with. But this time it feels different somehow. So I'm going to keep hoping. I'm not asking you to, but I'm going to hold onto this, because there's no other option for me."

At Thatch's words, Marco deflated and let go of his grasp. He shook his head and threw his brother a rueful smile.

"You've always been the believer among us, Thatch."

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If any of you followed my previous story, you most likely know that I'm not really good with updates…. When I hit a wall, I just can't get past it. My plan for this chapter was to have Ace actually wake up (properly) and have at least a bit of interaction with his brother(s). But I kinda got stuck after Thatch & Marco's conversation. So I just kept holding on to this for the past few weeks… but since I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, I decided to just publish what I've got. I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you :(

My plan for this story is to have memory chapters and story chapters take turns (memory chapter – story chapter – memory chapter and so forth). So the next chapter will be another memory of Small Ace. I've got a few ideas rolling around my head and haven't decided which one to write, but I hope I'll be able to update sooner than I did this time.

Thank you all who left encouraging comments in the last chapter. I could post this chapter all thanks to you :)


	5. A Jump

**Little Ace and Whitebeard, sharing a moment together.**

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 **5\. A Jump**

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The party was on a full swing, even though it was barely evening. His children were surely lively today, Whitebeard mused with a grin. He would've liked to stay on the deck a little longer, but Doctor Clody was firm on her order for him to rest regularly throughout the evening. She knew that there was no way she could completely prevent him from drinking and joining the merrymaking of the crew. But she gave an ultimatum that he had to retire to his room for a while at least every two hours, so that she could check up on him and give him medication in a timely manner.

Whitebeard sighed. His health wasn't _that_ bad, although he did agree that he probably needed to start taking better care of it, especially if he were to stay strong for his family. He had complete faith in Marco and knew that he was ready to succeed him if needed (Marco begged to differ), but he knew it would be better for him to be in charge for just a little longer.

Yes, at least until the baby of the family grew old enough to look out for himself.

Whitebeard's thoughts lingered on his youngest. When his old friend and rival Roger asked him to look after his wife and soon to be born child, he was both touched and distressed. It did not seem right for his friend, who was much younger than him that he could practically be his son himself, to give away his life to pave the way for the new generation.

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 _"_ _If I can, I'd trade places with you. It is not right for a father to die without even seeing his child's face. I've lived a good, long life. But you, my friend, are too young to leave this world like this."_

 _Roger gave a hearty laugh._

 _"_ _Whitebeard, I may be younger than you old geezer, but I too have lived a good life. I've got no regrets. No, I take that back. I'd be lying if I said that I don't regret not seeing my child's face or being there for Rogue. But I know you'll take good care of them. My child will have the greatest dad in all seas. Right?"_

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The greatest dad in all seas. Was he? Whitebeard chuckled to himself. Well, he could only hope.

"O-ya-ji!"

Whitebeard was startled from his musing by an impatient voice coming from somewhere below.

"Ace?"

"Hmmph. I called you like, like ten times!" Ace grumbled, stretching out his tiny hands to show ten tiny fingers, the largest number he could count.

"Did you? Sorry, I was thinking, little one." Whitebeard apologized and swooped down to pick up Ace. Ace giggled as he rode on the huge palm.

"Higher! Higher!"

Whitebeard obliged by bringing his hand high up above his head, before gently lowering it to his eye level.

"What are you doing here, Ace? Did you get tired of the party already?"

"No! Never! Party's fun! But I didn't want you to be alone. Alone is boring." Ace smiled as he played with Whitebeard's fingers. "So I came to keep you com… com…."

"Company?"

"Yeah!"

Whitebeard felt something warm spread through inside of him as he returned the bright smile from his youngest. His youngest. His son. The joy of him and their family. Whitebeard wondered how their lives would have been different if Roger did not change his mind at the last moment and went to Garp instead of him. Garp. That bull of a man was a decent person (after you got past all the crap about justice and marine and whatnot), but he was not someone that should be on the top of your list when you were looking for a babysitter, let alone a guardian. What would he have done with the little one? Throw him to the lions under the name of training, no doubt.

"Why, that's awfully kind of you, Ace. Since you came all the way here to keep me company, let's play a game together, shall we?"

"Okay!" Ace clapped his hands in anticipation. "What're we playin'?"

"Do you still remember how to play jump? We did it the other night."

"Uh-huh! You do like this and then like this."

Ace mocked a jumping and rolling motion. Whitebeard nodded his head and shifted his hand so that his right hand—where Ace currently was—was slightly higher than his left hand.

"Okay, let's try level 1 first."

"That's easy!"

Ace grinned as he jumped and landed in a slightly awkward roll.

"Gurarara, good job, son! Just remember to tuck in your chin and roll slightly sideway."

"Next, next!"

Ace got up and jumped up and down until Whitebeard raised his left hand higher up. This game of jump was one of the many Whitebeard and others have created to help Ace get in the basic training. Although they would be doing their best to protect him, the life on sea was unpredictable at best. Training was a must, even for a young one like him. But at the very least, they could make it fun and safe.

Ace was a quick study. He had a natural agility and strength that went beyond any of their expectations. Whitebeard could not wait till he was old enough to join their ranks properly and fight by their sides in battles. Although, Whitebeard mused, Ace joining any real action was likely to cause heart attack among the more protective—such as Marco or Thatch.

His musing was abruptly ended when Ace, who was good several feet up by this point, jumped in a wrong angle and started to plummet towards the floor.

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'Thud'

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Whitebeard caught the wayward son and brought the dazed-looking child to his eye level.

"You okay, child?"

"That…that was…fun!" Ace exclaimed and shook his head to shake off the dizziness, causing Whitebeard to chuckle.

"Well, be careful though. You would've gotten seriously hurt if I didn't catch you in time."

"But you'll always catch me." Ace said as he blinked up at his father. Unfiltered trust shone from his eyes. "I'm not afraid!"

"That is true, son. I'll always catch you." Whitebeard promised in a quiet voice. Ace just grinned wider and got up to ready for another jump.

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He may not be the greatest father in all seas, but Whitebeard swore to himself that he would never let this child fall.

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 **A/N: Hi all :) I'm so sorry for the late update. I hope you enjoyed this little story - I enjoyed writing it. I pictured the scenes in my head as I was writing and I just love seeing Ace and Whitebeard together :)**


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